SEARS WINS AT CCFS; LOVELESS NOTCHES FIRST CAREER SPORTSMAN VICTORY
by Craig McNeilly, 8/11
WEEDSPORT-- It was a shame one car had to settle for second place Sunday night at Cayuga County Fair Speedway. That is how competitive the racing was between Tom Sears Jr. and Ray Bliss Jr. over the last dozen laps of the 35-lap K & S Car Wash big-block modified feature.
After racing side-by-side cleanly for a third of the race, Sears prevailed and garnered his first CCFS win on the 2002 season.
"We obviously were going a lot better tonight than we have been lately," said Sears in victory lane. "This is only the second race on this new (Teo-Pro) car, and it just ran great. I saw (Bliss) down there a bunch of times, but I figured if I kept my cool I would be OK."
Sears and Bliss occupied the front row for the drop of the green, and Bliss immediately staked his new Bicknell-chassis No. 27z to a five-car length advantage over Sears.
Bliss held Sears at bay until a lap 16 restart, when Sears was able to maneuver his No. 3 machine under Bliss and into the lead. But Sears opened up only the slimmest of margins, and Bliss switched lanes, using the low side of the 3/8-mile clay oval in his bid to regain the lead.
Lap after lap the lead duo raced side-by side, never touching, with Bliss Jr. settling for the runner-up slot, his best effort on the year.
Meanwhile, the action behind the leaders was heated, with Pat Ward, Tim McCreadie, and Billy Decker all within striking distance of the top two.
Ward came home in third, with McCreadie narrowly beating out Decker for the fourth position. Jimmy Phelps was sixth, followed by Tim Fuller in seventh, and Scott Prentice in eighth position. Joe Beyea was ninth and CCFS point leader Alan Johnson recovered from a flat right front tire to finish tenth.
Ron Loveless earned his first career win in the 20-lap sportsman main, a victory overshadowed by a spectacular crash on lap 16. The third-place running car of Shawn Donath blew the powerplant entering turn 3, dropping fluid directly in the racing groove.
The fifth and sixth-place running cars of Greg Doust and Russ Hefti spun wildly in the slick stuff, and flipped over the outer wall in turns three and four, exiting the race track.
Both driver's were fine, but their respective race cars sustained heavy damage.
When racing resumed, Loveless held off Donnie Wetmore Jr. over the last three circuits to claim a popular win. Eldon Payne trailed in third, with Eric Richardson placing fourth. Ryan Phelps completed the top-five finishers.
Tommy Barron was victorious in the 20-lap pro stock feature, beating out a determined Mike Cooper. Dave McCready, John Underwood, and Brian Kotarski completed the top five.
Sam Carista won the 4-cylinder Pitstop Enduro, trailed by Karl Werner and Craig Dingy.
Cayuga County Fair Speedway plays host to Barber Welding of Weedsport and the people of Pennzoil Sunday, August 18 for another full night of big-block/sportsman/pro-stock/four-cylinder action. Racing begins at 7 p.m.
MODIFIED (35-laps): Tom Sears Jr., Ray Bliss Jr., Pat Ward, Tim McCreadie, Billy Decker, Jimmy Phelps, Tim Fuller, Scott Prentice, Joe Beyea, Alan Johnson, Gary Tomkins, Tom Juhl, Ryan Bartlett, Mike Ward, Jim Burke, Brian Payne, Mike Bliss, Tim Harris, Roy Shields, Vinnie Vitale Jr., Justin Haers, Bob McCreadie, Chuck Bower.
SPORTSMAN (20-laps): Ron Loveless, Donnie Wetmore Jr., Eldon Payne, Eric Richardson, Ryan Phelps, John Pfeffer, Mike Conrow, Mark Cammuso, Frank Burnell Jr., Ryan Richardson, Walt Chrwaty, Terry Falter, Don Burke
PRO STOCK (20-laps): Tommy Barron, Mike Cooper, Dave McCready, John Underwood, Brian Kotarski, Fred Dennis, Mike Watkins, Zack Shove, Keith Butler, Ricky Breed, Randy Skiff, Pat Hobbs.